Southern Cameroons: Stopping A War before it Starts.By Prof. Tatah Mentan.Ph.D. Visiting Professor of Political Science (2005-06) Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada.)

La République du Cameroun is “a sleeping volcano.” This description has its meaning rooted in the history of what has come to be called the “Anglophone problem” in Cameroun. This “problem” can be traced back as far as the partitioning after the First World War of the erstwhile German Kamerun Protectorate (1884-1916) between the French and English victors, first as mandates under the League of Nations and later as trusts under the United Nations. The French-and English-speaking Cameroons formed an illegal “federal union” in 1961 which is now exploding. 

Why preventive diplomacy? Anglophone-Francophone animosities in  Cameroun have been raging intermittently since 1961, the year  La République du Cameroun (French-speaking) simply annexed the Southern Cameroons (English-speaking). These animosities, as they run riot, threaten the peace of Cameroun frequently. The essence of preventive diplomacy is therefore early warning and timely intervention where this peace is menaced by a typical problem of paternalism. The frequent slaughter of protesting Southern Cameroons students and protesters by La République du Cameroun forces of annexation is eloquent testimony.

       Preventive diplomacy in this case, to be successful, compels some diplomatic intercession. This intercession requires understanding the sources of an impending conflict and addressing them in time to prevent violent confrontation. Once a conflict has broken out, the immediate need is to address its humanitarian consequences, while seeking an end to the hostilities by addressing the issues that led to the conflict in the first place. Success means restoring peace and creating conditions that are capable of sustaining the achieved peace. The process is therefore circular in that ensuring a lasting solution becomes a preventive measure that should ideally address the sources or causes of the conflict. In Cameroon, preventive diplomacy entails the resolution of the conflict created by the annexation of the British Southern Cameroons by La République du Cameroun.

The African Commission on Human and People’s Rights

      At the 37^th Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, held in Banjul (Gambia) from April 27 to May 11, 2005 , the Commission heard oral presentation made by the complainant (Southern Cameroons) and the response of Respondent State (La République du Cameroun). The Complainants reiterated that their submissions at the Admissibility and Merit stages of this case establish conclusively the elements of ‘people’, ‘domination’, ‘colonialism’ and ‘oppression’: the people of the Southern Cameroons are without any shadow of a doubt a people, a people under the domination of the people of Respondent State, a people under the colonial rule of Respondent State, and a people oppressed by Respondent State. Complainants repeated the following facts:

1)      that the Southern Cameroons and République du Cameroun were two separate Class B UN Trust Territories under two separate colonial Authorities with well-defined international boundaries (see 1958 Map showing the Southern Cameroons as a UN Trust Territory under UK Administration; Nigeria is to the west and the Trust Territory of French Cameroun is to the east) ;

2)      that the Plebiscite Questions as framed by the UN invited the people of the Southern Cameroons to pronounce themselves on the achievement of independence by ‘joining’ either Nigeria or République du Cameroun;

3)      that the pre-plebiscite Agreements between the Southern Cameroons and Respondent State and the voting at the UN in April 1961 leading to the adoption of Resolution 1608 clearly envisaged three concomitant events to happen on 1 October 1961, namely, achievement of independence by the Southern Cameroons, entry into a federal association with République du Cameroun and the consequential termination of the trusteeship over the Southern Cameroons;

4)      that operative paragraph 5 of Resolution 1608 called on the Government of the Southern Cameroons, the UK and République du Cameroun to finalize before 1 October 1961 the arrangements by which the agreed and published policies on a federal association would be implemented;

5)      that said paragraph 5 was not and has never been implemented;

6)      that on 1 September 1961 Respondent State passed an annexation law asserting sovereignty over the Southern Cameroons; and

7)     that on 1 October 1961 Respondent State sent its troops into the Southern Cameroons , grabbed it as part of its territory, and has since been exercising a colonial sovereignty over it, the fierce protest of the people notwithstanding

8)      The Complainants concluded their presentation as follows: “the self-determination process of the people of the Southern Cameroons

is irreversible. Widespread bloodshed in Ambazonia may be only a few months away as the struggle for self-determination gathers its momentum.”

The United Nations Commission on Human Rights

The clash between the Southern Cameroons and La République du Cameroun continued on

March 31, 2005

, on the floor of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UN CHR). In the exercise of its right to reply, La République’s Ambassador lashed out at the NGO through which the Southern Cameroons delegation was accredited to the 61st Session of the UN CHR. He accused the Human Rights Commission of giving the Southern Cameroons (SCNC) the platform to “discredit his government.” He stated that the SCNC are “terrorists who have killed military officers and destroyed government property.” He claimed that the Southern Cameroons was attached to La République du Cameroun by the UN referendum of 1961 and was split into two of the 10 provinces that make up the country. 

      In effect, what the ambassador did was to confirm the fact of the annexation of the Southern Cameroons by La République du Cameroun. This annexation by La République du Cameroun and the resultant self-determination of the Southern Cameroons is the substance of this paper to explore how preventive diplomacy can defuse the time bomb. Indeed, Cameroun has staggered into the twenty-first century with a smoldering time-bomb in the pocket. And, only very careful preventive diplomacy can defuse it. The most desirable and efficient employment of this type of diplomacy is to ease tensions before they result in violent conflict. Or, if conflict breaks out, to act swiftly to contain it and resolve its underlying causes.

      In October 2001, following demonstrations in English-speaking provinces for greater political rights three people were killed, nine injured and over 100 arrested and tortured. According to Amnesty International “Over the last decades feelings of political marginalisation and discrimination have grown stronger in the English speaking provinces, leading to the foundation of the various political movements including the SCNC [Southern Cameroon National Council] and the affiliated SCYL [Southern Cameroon Youth League] in the early 1990s. Government response to pro-secessionist political movements and those demanding greater regional autonomy has increasingly toughened” (AI 4 Oct 2001).

      A news report on demonstrations in the English-speaking provinces on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the 1972 referendum creating a unified Cameroon stated, “official celebrations held … [in Buea] were dwarfed by secessionist banners and posters observed all over” (Afrol News 21 May 2002). Referring to the groups calling for secession from Cameroon , the report continued:

“These groups at first sight may give the impression of hopeless dreamers, but anti-Yaoundé resentments are strong among Anglophone Cameroonians. The Anglophone population might be split on the issue of wanting a separate state, but mostly agree that they have become marginalized within the unified state” (Afrol News May 21, 2002 ).

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Comments

[PAOLO LAURENT]

THE ONLY SOLUTION IS FOR SOUTHERN CAMEROONS TO BE ARMED AND KILLED ALL THOSE MILTARY,POLICE, GERDAMES AND ADMINSTRATORS, ENSLAING THEM ON THEIR LAND

[SOLO]

It's actually confusing to me about the status of my country cameroon,pls i will like some of the elders and intellectuals or the professionals in the field of history to enlighten me on this aspect of the status of my beloved country. I will like to know if cameroon had ever been one before the french ,germans,english,portuges came in? Second,is it not the same people that brought about the french and english cameroons? Than after we had the referandum to join the french cameroon,to become as one as cameroon was before. Actually am confused,i don't understand the sense of southern cameroon being sovereign here,because originally we were one people before the europeans came in. I know we got a problem,the southern cameroon problem,yes but i think we should look for another means to solve this problem rather than looking for a means that is going to bring more problems in our history. What am sayin is that,if we have this so call seperation or southern cameroon ,i tell you our kids,or the kids of our kids will one day fight for the unity of this same beloved nation of our's cameroon. Lets not try to put the people apart,we should rather sort means to better the life's of our people as one cameroon please.IF CAMEROON HAD NEVER BIENG ONE BEFORE THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS THEN LETS FIGHT FOR SEPERATION,BUT IF CAMEROON HAD BEING ONE BEFORE THE COMING OF EUROPEANS THEN LETS NOT TRY TO CREAT CONFUSION OR WANTING TO LOST MORE SOULS FOR OUR OWN SELFISH REASONS.

[lumumba]

I feel that we the so call Anglophones aren't taking keen interest about our total liberation from the mouths of the greedy francophones. Many Southern cameroonians don't know about their HISTORY but we know so much about European,French, Russia/American histories but we care less about our own roots.
Its a taboo for young a Southern cameroonians to talk about their history. Some being very comfortable with the positions that their Fathers are enjoying in the present Biya's gov't. Is mad for you to mention our struggles while some of them got asylum because of the Anglophone course.
So to the best of my knowledge, i stand to be corrected, the so call British Southern Cameroons were an independent state on its own.
This issue of not shading blood is something that the pro french are saying, but i feel that the case in Gambia will proof that we need to be on our own. We aren't sessionist as the "La Republique du cameroun" are putting it. Session is when we'ere formerly together then we're separating as the breakaway in the Soviet union.I'll get back to this .
But Viva Southern Cameroon struggles viva?? viva!!Amandla, Awethu!!forward to the struggle forwrad!!

[lumumba]

Its obvious that no gov't will live forever because humnaity by nature won't live for eternity. Gov'ts can lve forever by its good works, so those legacies will live on.Why should people be afraid of their own HISTORY? Why should peolpe refute the fact thatt Southern cameroons opted to join the Union with La Republique du Cameroon? Why should people deny the fact that Southern cameroonians can revoke the decision of 1961?? La Republique was independence from the French on 1st Jan,1960, then in 1961 the referandum was made with lots of manipulations for us the be coopted in the Union with EQUAL Status,Why should our lives be control by the dishonesty of orthers????? Why do they pretend to live with us but openly treat us like starngers???How long will they forced us not to speak out??? The light has been hidden from for so long a time but the light is shining on us now so we should make use of the light and tackle the ills of the system. This a kind of apartheid to us but some of us are very comfortable with what is going on. Cameroon is not an Island, check on the Canadian issue. Lets go to referandum to decide the case. Canada has done that with the Quebecoise who wanted to separate from the union, but majority didn't want out of the union they're forced to be in it. When has the Biya Oligarch prefers to meet the Western powers than to meet Anglophones to discuss the cameroon problem.
Our cloudy atmosphere is that we don't stand as a poeple to echoed that enough is enough.We're charaterised by: Anglosceptics, The moderate Anglophiles and Extreme Anglophiles.
we should all unite to tackled the common enemy tactically!!
i thank you all.
Amandla!! Awethu!! Forwrad to the struggle forward!! Forward!!

[DANGO TUMMA]

solo, you are very naive, there are thousands upon thousands of litterature
ionline that answer your question, AT NO TIME IN HISTORY HAVE SOUTHERN CAMEROONS BEEN ONE WITH FRENCH CAMEROON,
THE NAME KAMERUN ITSELF OF GERMANY WAS MADE UP FIVE DIFFERENT COUNTRIES NOT THE CAMEROUN OF PAUL BIYA TODAY, ANOTHER THING, THE TRIBES OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONS ARE NOT IN FRENCH CAMEROUN OR NIGERIA. ONLY SMALL OVER LAP AT THE BORDERS. SOO THE ANSWER IS PAUL BIYA AND AHIJO ARE TO BE BLAME NOT ANY ONE ELSE. ALL AFRICAN COUNTRIES THAT GOT THEIR INDEPENDENCE IN 1960 ARE LIVING INSIDE THEIR BOUNDARIES PEACEFULLY WHY NOY FRENCH CAMEROUN LIVE IN ITS OWN BOUNDARIES? SOO INDEPENDENCE OF SOUTHERN CAMEROONS IS THE ONLY SOLUTION, LIKE IT OR NOT. NO BODY IS A SLAVE ON HIS OWN COUNTRY.

[DANGO TUMMA]

SOLO, thats the position french camerounese say, before we were one, but they as well as yourself never states
what year was southern cameroons and french cameroun one state, and under what president? you see, its just a cameroun biya propaganda the nrainwashing history thats taught in schools today, bet you southern cameroons was had association with nigeria for 50 years under the uk indirect rule, but we walked out of the enugu eastern house of assembly and back to buea and formed our own govt in 1954, DR EML ENDELLEY WS THE PRESIDENT. CAMEROUN WAS THEN STILL A COLONY UNDER FRANCE AND FIGHTING ITS CIVIL WARS. SOO NO BODY SHOULD LIE TO YOU THAT SINCE THE NAME IS SIMILAR, THE COUNTRY IS ONE. NO NO. THERE IS GUINES CONAKRY, GUINEA BISSAU, CONGO BRAZZA AND CONGO KINSHASA, BENIN AND
ETC. WE ARE NOT THE SAME PEOPLE PLEASE ITS AN INSULT TO US.

[DANGO TUMMA]

WE WERE ONE AS BLACK AFRICANS
THATS THE ONLY SENSE BEFORE THE COMING OF EUROPEANS MORON, STUPID SOLO